Questions, answered first
One page per question people actually type about AI search. Each opens with a direct answer you can act on, then the detail, then the sources — so you can check us.
Not showing up
Why isn’t my business mentioned in ChatGPT’s answers?
Usually one of four reasons: your site isn’t indexed in Bing, which ChatGPT search draws on alongside OpenAI’s own crawler; your pages never say, in one liftable sentence, what you do and where; your name, address and profiles disagree across the web; or nobody independent mentions you. An audit shows which one it is.
Why isn’t my site cited in Google AI Overviews?
Google builds AI Overviews from pages that already rank for the question and the sub-questions it breaks the query into, so a page outside the top results isn’t eligible. Beyond ranking, the passage has to answer directly and stand alone, and the business behind it has to be a consistent entity. There is no AI Overview submission or special markup.
Do Google reviews affect AI recommendations?
Yes — indirectly and strongly. Engines cite entities they can verify, and review volume, recency and consistency across Google, Justdial and industry platforms are part of that verification; Google lists reviews under “prominence” in local ranking, which AI Overviews build on. Reviews won’t make a thin site citable, but a business with none is rarely named for local prompts.
How the engines work
Does ChatGPT use Bing to search the web?
Yes, in part. Microsoft announced in May 2023 that Bing is the default search experience in ChatGPT, and OpenAI describes ChatGPT search as using third-party search providers together with its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot. In practice, a page absent from Bing’s index rarely surfaces in ChatGPT — so Bing indexing is a prerequisite for GEO.
Should I block AI crawlers like GPTBot?
Not if you want to be cited. The crawlers are separate: GPTBot collects training data, OAI-SearchBot powers ChatGPT search, and ChatGPT-User fetches pages on request; Google-Extended only governs Gemini training and has no effect on Search or AI Overviews, which use Googlebot. Block training bots if you must; never block the search ones.
Getting started
How long does GEO take to show results?
First citations for specific, low-competition prompts usually appear 2–8 weeks after the fixes go live — Perplexity first, ChatGPT once Bing has re-crawled, Google AI Overviews as organic rankings move. Competitive “best X in Bangalore” prompts take 6–12 months. Anyone quoting faster for competitive prompts is guessing.
Do I still need SEO if I’m doing GEO?
Yes. Google AI Overviews are assembled from pages that already rank; ChatGPT search draws on Bing’s index; Perplexity retrieves from the live web. A page that doesn’t rank anywhere isn’t in any answer. SEO is the base layer; GEO adds entity consistency, retrievability for AI crawlers and third-party mentions on top of it.
How do I check what AI says about my business?
Ask the engines the way a buyer would — “best [category] in Bangalore”, “[brand] reviews”, “[category] near [area]” — in ChatGPT with search on, Perplexity, Gemini and Google, from a fresh session, and note whether you’re named and who is cited instead. Repeat monthly with the same prompts; the trend matters more than any single answer.
Is GEO worth it for a small business in Bangalore?
Often more than for a big brand. Local prompts are specific — “dentist near HSR Layout” — engines prefer verifiable local entities, and the competition is thin on technical quality. A clinic or studio with consistent profiles, reviews and clear answer-first pages can be named ahead of a national chain for its own area, usually within 4–8 weeks.
Measurement and money
What does GEO cost in Bangalore?
Published Bangalore GEO plans start around ₹50,000 a month; most agencies quote on request and bundle GEO with SEO. Citemark’s plans are published on the pricing page and include SEO, AEO and GEO together, billed month to month, with a free audit before any payment. Be wary of a guaranteed citation at any price.
Can an agency guarantee citations in ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews?
No. Nobody controls what an engine cites: OpenAI, Google and Perplexity change retrieval and ranking continuously and sell no placement inside organic answers. An agency can guarantee the work, the reporting cadence and a published timeline — and show citations as dated screenshots. A guaranteed citation is a sales line, not a service.
How is GEO measured?
Against a fixed prompt map: for each prompt and engine, whether the brand is named, whether its site is cited, and who else is — recorded monthly as screenshots. The roll-ups are citation rate (prompts where you’re cited divided by prompts run), share of answer versus named competitors, and AI-engine referral sessions in GA4. Not a single “AI visibility score”.
What is an AI visibility audit?
A dated record of what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews answer for the questions buyers ask in your category — screenshot by screenshot — with who gets cited instead of you, why (entity, retrievability or content), and the three fixes with the best effort-to-impact ratio. Citemark’s is free and takes five working days.
Have a question that isn’t here?
Ask it on a 30-minute call — we’ll run your prompts live — or get the free audit and have it answered in writing.